Wilfred Owen, renowned for his poignant war poetry, once remarked, "Above all I am not concerned with Poetry. My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is the pity." This sentiment encapsulates the essence of his work, where the grim realities of warfare take center stage over aesthetic considerations. In his poem "Exposure," Owen masterfully highlights the tragic irony of soldiers succumbing not to the "monstrous anger of the guns," but to the relentless, merciless elements.

World War I scholars might be aware that countless soldiers perished from cold and disease, yet these mundane deaths often fade into obscurity amidst the glorified narratives of warfare. Owen's portrayal challenges this glorification by drawing attention to the dehumanizing chill of the environment. Unlike the visceral heat of bullets, the biting cold robs soldiers of their dignity and understanding, leaving them to question their circumstances.

The poem vividly captures this agony through the recurrent questioning in the fifth lines of each stanza, where the soldiers, with "aching brains," struggle to comprehend their suffering. These lines evoke the bewilderment and despair of men facing the specter of death in the numbing silence of the freezing front. Owen's work, therefore, becomes a haunting testament to the often overlooked facets of war, urging readers to recognize the stark, pitiful reality behind the heroic facade.

In stark contrast to English poets like Sir Philip Sidney and Percy Bysshe Shelley, who viewed poets as educators or "unacknowledged legislators," Owen perceives the role of poets quite differently. He asserts, "all a poet can do today is warn; that is why the True Poets must be truthful." This conviction is vividly portrayed in his poem "Exposure," where Owen seeks to convey the harsh reality of truthfulness. The poem immerses the reader in the chilling indifference of nature and the divine force behind it, compelling them to confront the relentless, unfeeling environment that surrounds humanity.

In stanzas 7 and 8 of his poem, Wilfred Owen delves into his profound skepticism regarding the traditional religious beliefs surrounding God’s involvement in the suffering of soldiers exposed to the harsh elements of war. Owen had grown disillusioned with the rigid doctrines espoused by national churches, which he perceived as disconnected from the real experiences of those on the battlefield. For him, the solace derived from religion came not from dogma, but from the figure of Christ, who epitomized selfless love through his sacrificial death—a parallel to the sacrifices made by soldiers for their comrades.

Owen’s work, particularly in the poem “At a Calvary near the Ancre,” investigates the presence of Christ amidst the devastation of war. However, in “Exposure,” this comforting presence seems absent, leaving a void where love and faith might have offered comfort. The poem starkly portrays a world devoid of divine compassion, challenging the conventional pieties that many held dear.

This approach was in part influenced by Owen’s mentor, Siegfried Sassoon, who shared a similar skepticism. Sassoon encouraged Owen to confront the harsh realities of war and the perceived indifference of a nationalistic God, one who seemed to condone the brutality rather than offer respite. Together, they crafted poetry that boldly questioned the alignment of religious institutions with the war effort, inviting readers to reconsider the role of faith in a world scarred by conflict.

"Exposure," though not among Wilfred Owen's most famous works, stands out as one of his most harrowing portrayals of war's bleakness. The poem vividly contrasts the unrelenting cold and suffering of soldiers in the trenches with the cozy warmth enjoyed by those on the home front. This home front, insulated from...